Abc Radio

ARTICLES ABOUT ABC RADIO BY DATE - PAGE 2

By Jim Kirk, TRIBUNE REPORTER and Bloomberg News contributed to this report | March 1, 2008

In what staffers referred to as a "bloodbath" Friday, WLS-AM 890 laid off a number of staffers, including several news veterans, as owner Citadel Broadcasting Corp. slashed costs nationwide during one of the biggest advertising downturns in radio history. Among those let go were station news director and Chicago radio news journalist Jennifer Keiper and longtime City Hall reporter Bill Cameron, sources said. Also among the group let go were news reporter David Jennings, a producer on the Don Wade & Roma morning show and various ad sales and support staff.

WMVP-AM 1000 management has taken a beating this week on the message boards and phone lines--and rightfully so. One listener called in to the weekly media criticism segment on "Mac, Jurko & Harry" with this gripe: The station demands accountability from the teams it covers, "but when it comes to you, you let your own listeners hang." The issue is this: When will "Mac, Jurko & Harry" return, and why won't the station explain why Dan McNeil and Harry Teinowitz have been in exile since their June 9 on-air spat?

They are call letters out of radio history--WLS-AM in Chicago, WABC-AM in New York, KABC-AM in Los Angeles, WJR-AM in Detroit, WMAL-AM in Washington, KGO-AM in San Francisco--all jewels in a crown headed toward a new kingdom. The Walt Disney Co. on Monday unveiled a complex, long-anticipated deal to merge its ABC Radio Networks and 22 ABC Radio stations, including Chicago's WLS-AM and WZZN-FM, with Citadel Broadcasting Corp. The $2.7 billion deal will result in the nation's third-largest radio group.

On Oct. 27, 1469, Renaissance scholar Desiderius Erasmus was born in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. In 1782 composer Niccolo Paganini was born in Genoa, Italy. In 1787 the first of the Federalist Papers, a series of essays calling for ratification of the Constitution, was published in a New York newspaper. In 1795 Spain and the U.S. signed the Treaty of San Lorenzo, which provided for free navigation of the Mississippi River. In 1858 Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th president, was born in New York.

Donald Trump's pointing fingers, and not the "You're fired" kind. The Donald wants everyone to know he's not to blame for the dropping ratings of his "Apprentice" show. It's Martha Stewart's fault. Trump told ABC Radio that Stewart's version of the "Apprentice" hurt the fourth season of his show because it mixed up viewers. "I think there was confusion between Martha's 'Apprentice' and mine," Trump said. "Mine continues to do well, and as you know, the other one has struggled severely."

WMVP-AM 1000 definitely is getting the most out of its final season airing White Sox games. The team's playoff run has provided a lovely parting gift. But the Sox's success in the postseason doesn't make up for what has been a costly deal for the station. Back in 1995, Jerry Reinsdorf signed a long-term contract with WMVP to carry both the Sox and Bulls games. That run is nearly complete. The Sox will be moving to WSCR-AM 670 next season and the Bulls are likely to do the same after one last season on WMVP.

The room is candlelit, the dance floor buzzing, and the band is mixing swinging standards and jazzy classics. But there's no sign of smoke, tipsiness or excessive background noise, and outside there isn't a hint of darkness. Though the atmosphere of "Nightclub in the Afternoon" may resemble a swanky supper club, it's without the bar scene's inconveniences. "I've talked to enough older adults to find out they miss going to clubs and that most of them don't drive at night," says "Nightclub" organizer Mary Anne Riehl of Morton Grove.

The soundtrack to the hit Coen Brothers movie "O Brother, Where Art Thou?", with its mixture of vintage bluegrass, country and blues, recently won the most prestigious prize in music -- the Grammy Award for album of the year. It has sold more than 5 million copies, was recently the No. 1 album on the pop charts and has been the top-selling country album for the last half-year. Yet if one listens to commercial radio stations across the nation, the album might as well not exist. Though the video for the Soggy Bottom Boys' "Man of Constant Sorrow" was a hit on video channels and a tour promoting the album sold out theaters across the country (and will be playing larger venues this summer)

Without a word of warning to its staff Wednesday, ABC Radio changed the format of classic rock station WXCD-FM 94.7 to a 1980s rock music format and fired its on-air staff, with the exception of those on Kevin Matthews' morning show. Among those told to pack their bags were veteran Chicago on-air personalities Bob Stroud, Patti Haze and Allan Stagg. Matthews' show remains intact. Executives from the station began notifying the staff just before 6 p.m., when the station pulled the trigger on the format change.